Good practice = bad gig?

[dazza14]

Call me superstitious but does anybody else feel that if you have a great final practice, the gig seems to turn out below par?

 

I HATE practicing for a gig the day before, I find it over-saturates slightly - I prefer to turn up to a gig feeling somewhat under-rehearsed so I concentrate more and any solos are a precise response to the mood/vibe of the gig.

 

I had practice last night for a gig this evening and it went really, really well. So now I'm expecting to play a shocker later...

[BreadBin]

Last weekend was Friday practice - good, Saturday gig - really good and Sunday practice/recording - absolutely terrible!

[Ed_S]

I reckon it's a thing because we make it one - we're looking out for and dwelling on anything that didn't go quite as well as in the great rehearsal we just had, where in any other circumstance we'd just dismiss it and move on. It's like I know that one beer doesn't affect my playing but I'm looking out for mistakes if I've had a drink, which maybe even contributes to me making the mistake in the first place, and if it doesn't then being disproportionately aware of it probably contributes to me making the next one!

[jimmyb625]

I think it's more a case if you have a bad practice immediately before the gig, you make more effort during the gig.

When I've directed plays, it's often been the case that a few days before opening, we have a shocker of a rehearsal. People have a tendency to "coast" once they think they've got it cracked in terms of their performance, which can then result in it going completely haywire.

We also find, during the run of the show, that opening night is great, then it drops on the second night, as again, complacency sets in. The rest of the run then picks up again to the previous level.

There will always be things that happen which you don't expect, but as long as you carry it as a "team" 99% of the time the audience won't notice*

 

 

 

 

*I'm excluding the last song of our set on Friday night, where it was very noticable for most of our audience, apart from the lead singer/guitarist's wife! 🤣

[Franticsmurf]

1 hour ago, jimmyb625 said:

People have a tendency to "coast" once they think they've got it cracked in terms of their performance, which can then result in it going completely haywire.

I think there may be many contributing factors, but the psychological element is definitely there. I have done it myself and I've learnt not to rely on a great rehearsal being an excuse to wing it on the night. In fact, I actively look for any areas to improve my performance during any rehearsal as strategy for dealing with the over confidence a good rehearsal can bring. Equally, I've experienced the 'great gig, we don't need to rehearse' approach which inevitably leads to performances we'd rather forget.  

[chris_b]

4 hours ago, dazza14 said:

Call me superstitious but does anybody else feel that if you have a great final practice, the gig seems to turn out below par?

 

Nope. I arrive at a rehearsal knowing the material, so all we have to do is top and tail the songs. A good rehearsal equals a good gig in my experience.

[nilorius]

stinky poo happens.

[nilorius]

Just now, nilorius said:

stinky poo happens.

I meant $hit happens.

[chris_b]

20 minutes ago, nilorius said:

stinky poo happens.

 

You are right. But that's the way of the world.

 

All I can do is make sure it's not my stinky poo that happens, but someone else's.

[Nail Soup]

In my last band, if we never said the whole rule out loud.

If we had a bad practice, we'd say "Bad Practice , Good Gig".

If we had a good practice we'd all say a few words tantamount to  "Good Practice, Good Gig".

As we never said the whole rule out loud we didn't have to admit to any contradiction therein.

[nilorius]

1 minute ago, Nail Soup said:

In my last band, if we never said the whole rule out loud.

If we had a bad practice, we'd say "Bad Practice , Good Gig".

If we had a good practice we'd all say a few words tantamount to  "Good Practice, Good Gig".

As we never said the whole rule out loud we didn't have to admit to any contradiction therein.

Sounds a bit like cucklukst clan.

[bass_dinger]

9 minutes ago, nilorius said:

Sounds a bit like cucklukst clan.

That's not a word I have come across.  Even Google can't help me.

[Rich]

We tend to rehearse on the Wednesday prior to a gig. The two or three day gap allows for any personal practice time to work on anything that didn't go so well at rehearsal, if needed.

[White Cloud]

7 hours ago, chris_b said:

 

Nope. I arrive at a rehearsal knowing the material, so all we have to do is top and tail the songs. A good rehearsal equals a good gig in my experience.

I like it!